The NG Tube’s History - Check out that handsome face!

Yesterday was a “test”.  The NG tube (the tube in his nose that pumps bile and such out of his stomach) was clamped off.  If the fistula did not leak much in the following 24 hours they would remove the tube.  Dad passed his test and the tube was removed this morning.  Dad never really liked the NG (possibly because his nostril formed a permanent crease in its place after having the tube there for so long in 2009).  This time the tube had fallen into that same familiar crease.  Now the tube its gone.  It’s amazing how much more photogenic one looks without a long straw sticking out of one’s nostril and a bandaid covering one’s nose.

Mom and Dad

Bonnie and Dad

A tentative plan for tomorrow – MOVE TO THE REHAB floor!  Cross your fingers (or better yet say a little prayer).  - Tracy

Patience 201 By: Marilyn Goerig

Enough already!
Is Louie’s cry I’m sure.
The thought of one more setback
Is extremely hard to endure.

For over two years now,
We’ve learned and practiced patience.
As far as content mastery goes,
Louis achieved all “A’s”.

When his present surgery went so well;
He began to see the light.
Could there maybe be
An attainable goal in sight?

No doubt that end is still there,
With total healing achieved.
God is only testing us
To see if we still believe.

“In God’s Time” is very hard,
When you are ready to be done.
We will continue to pray
And study Patience 201

The cause of the intermitten fever has been diagnosed. One of the central lines is infected.  This was not immedately evident but "grew out" over days.  To remedy this,  Louie made a trip to Interventional Radiology this afternoon where a PICC line was inserted in his arm and the infected line removed.. 
Dr. Hall came by today and took the staples out of Louie's leg. This area was the donor site of a "flap"  of skin, fat, and muscle that became the cover for the previously open abdomen.  As you can imagine, that leg is very painful because of the deep section that was removed.  It looks wonderful, and the doctors are very pleased. He also took the staples out of another area on his side--this patch was covered with a muscle flap---it also looks good. The stiches  of the larger abdomen area will stay in longer but it is amazing. Dr. Hall confessed to putting much thought all hours of the day and night into this procedure.  We essentially presented him with an open area  with three mounds of  leaking intstines outside his body and looked for answers.  It was nothing that either he nor his asociate expected calling it a "plastic surgeons nightmare". The morning of the surgery he outlined Plan A, Plan B, or Plan C.  We joined hands and prayed the Our Father togerther.  I am so impressed with these surgeons who use their skills acknowledging that it only comes from God.  He was able to put Plan A into effect with great results.
Louie was also begun evaluation to be consided for the rehab floor.. You must be able to tolerate 3 hours of therapy per day and meet other medical criteria.  We hope that this move will be in his future.
     As Tracy indicated,  we were stunned on Sunday to hear the word fistula from Dr. Saggi . After he said that word I don't think we heard anything else.  Our eperience with fistulas is so extreme!  Since then we have been able to process that it is small, it should close by itself ( really? really?--we do not have the capacity to understand this) and he is doing well. 
The NG tube in his nose will stay in for now, and the wound vac-these will both decrease the fluid of the fistula.  Still no food or drink.   He is hanging in there and I am really proud of him.  We have a plaque at home that states "Faith makes things possible, not easy". How true! 
Thanks for your continued healing prayers---Ruthie

First and foremost, Happy Father’s Day!  Bonnie, Suzanne and I have been blessed with such an amazing father.  We are so grateful for all that he’s always done for us and continues to do.  Even the day after this surgery when he was able to tell me to “be careful on my drive home and call someone when I got there”.  I guess even when you’re still a little “loopy” from anesthesia you still don’t lose the dad in you.

As happy as we are to have such a great dad, we still did not have the joyous Father’s Day that we’d hoped for.  Sunday morning Mom and Dad were told that Dad has developed a small fistula.  FISTULA – oh how we HATE that word!  This is a devastating blow!  Fistulas are what he had before and what we wanted more than anything to eliminate.  It’s thought to be very small and Dr. Saggi feels like it could heal on its own in 3-4 weeks.  That is our ultimate prayer right now.  Please continue to pray for the healing of this fistula.  - Tracy